Ever looked at that sleek, humming white box in your laundry room and wondered how we got here? It’s easy to take for granted. You toss in a pod, press a button, and walk away. But for most of human history, "laundry day" wasn't just a chore; it was a back-breaking, skin-eroding, multi-day marathon. If you’re looking for a single date for when was the first washing machine invented, I have some bad news. There isn't just one.
History is messy.
Technically, the first patent for a washing machine-like device goes back to 1691 in England. But did that guy actually build it? Probably not. Then you have the 1700s, where people were throwing clothes into wooden cages and cranking handles like they were churning butter. It wasn't until the industrial revolution really kicked into gear that we saw things that look like what we’d call a "machine" today.
The Patent Trail: Who Actually Got There First?
John Henshall of London grabbed that 1691 patent, but the records are incredibly thin on what the thing actually did. It was likely just a tub with a rotating agitator. Fast forward to 1767, and a German scientist named Jacob Christian Schäffer published a design for a washing machine. He was a polymath—the kind of guy who studied fungi and birds but decided laundry was a problem worth solving. Schäffer’s machine was basically a wooden vat with a crank-operated agitator. It looked a bit like a giant, upright barrel with a steering wheel on top.
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Then America entered the chat.
In 1797, Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire received the first U.S. patent for a "Clothes Washer." Here’s the kicker: we have almost no idea what it looked like. Why? Because a massive fire at the U.S. Patent Office in 1836 destroyed the original records. We just know it existed.
It’s kinda wild to think about. We know the name, we know the date, but the actual technology is lost to history.
The Industrial Leap and the "Thor" Breakthrough
By the mid-1800s, the world was obsessed with mechanical efficiency. You had the Hamilton Smith patent in 1858 for a rotary washing machine, and then William Blackstone—a guy from Indiana—built a birthday present for his wife in 1874. His version was essentially a wooden tub with a piece of wood that had six small pegs to move the clothes through the water. It worked so well he started a company. You can still find Blackstone washers in museums today. They were the first machines truly designed for the home rather than a commercial laundry.
But the real "holy grail" for historians of technology is the jump to electricity.
The Hurley Machine Company of Chicago released the "Thor" in 1908. This is widely cited as the first electric-powered washing machine. It was designed by Alva J. Fisher. It featured a galvanized tub and an electric motor. It was also incredibly dangerous.
Seriously.
The motor was tucked underneath, often exposed to dripping water. The drive belts were open. If you weren't careful, you could lose a finger or get a nasty shock. It was a prototype for the modern world, but it was also a lawsuit waiting to happen. Yet, people loved it. Why? Because it beat scrubbing collars on a corrugated washboard until your knuckles bled.
Why the 1930s Changed Everything
If you’re asking when was the first washing machine invented in the sense of a machine that actually does the work for you—meaning, it fills, washes, rinses, and spins—the answer is 1937.
That was the year Bendix Home Appliances introduced the first automatic domestic washing machine. It was a marvel. It didn't look like a top-loader; it looked more like a front-loading dryer we see today. It had a porthole window. It even had a suspension system so it wouldn't vibrate through the floorboards during the spin cycle.
However, there was a catch.
These early Bendix machines had to be bolted to the floor. If you didn't bolt them down, the "walking" effect from the heavy internal drum would literally move the machine across the room. It was powerful, loud, and expensive. But it was the first time a human could put clothes in and walk away until they were ready for the line.
The Post-War Boom and the Death of the Wringer
After World War II, the technology exploded. By the 1950s, companies like Maytag, Whirlpool, and General Electric were competing to see who could make the machine more "automatic."
The "wringer" washer—those machines with the two rollers on top that squeezed the water out of your shirts—started to disappear. Those things were terrifying. They were nicknamed "widow-makers" for a reason. If your hair or loose sleeve got caught in the rollers, you were in serious trouble. The move toward centrifugal spinning (spinning the tub at high speeds to pull water out) was a massive safety upgrade.
By the 1990s, microchips took over. Suddenly, your washer could sense how heavy the load was. It could calculate exactly how much water was needed. We went from wooden buckets and hand-cranks to "Smart" appliances in about 150 years.
A Timeline of Turning Points
- 1767: Jacob Christian Schäffer’s wooden agitator design.
- 1797: Nathaniel Briggs gets the first U.S. patent (then the records burned).
- 1851: James King patents a machine with a drum, making it look more modern.
- 1874: William Blackstone creates the first "home" model for his wife.
- 1908: The Thor electric washer hits the market, belts and all.
- 1937: Bendix debuts the first truly automatic machine.
- 1947: Raytheon develops the first "all-in-one" style agitator we recognize now.
What Most People Get Wrong About Early Washers
A big misconception is that these machines were labor-saving devices for everyone. Honestly, for the first few decades, they were luxury items for the wealthy. Most people were still using a "dolly" (a wooden stick with legs) or a washboard well into the 1920s.
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Another myth is that the "first" machine was a specific Eureka moment. It wasn't. It was a slow, agonizing evolution of hundreds of small patents. Some people invented better tubs. Others invented better gears. Some focused on the soap. It was a collective human effort to stop doing the hardest chore in the house.
How to Apply This History to Your Next Purchase
Understanding the history of the washing machine actually helps you shop for one today. We’ve come full circle in some ways.
- Front Load vs. Top Load: The first automatics (Bendix) were front loaders because they use less water and gravity helps the cleaning. If you want efficiency, the 1937 logic still holds up.
- Agitator vs. Impeller: The old-school "middle pole" (agitator) dates back to those 18th-century designs. It’s tough on clothes but great for heavy mud. Impellers (the flat discs) are the "newer" tech that mimics the gentle hand-washing of the past.
- Durability: Early machines like the original Maytags were built to be repaired. Today’s machines are often built to be replaced. If you’re buying, look for brands that offer "modular" repairs to honor that original spirit of longevity.
Next time you hear that little chime telling you the cycle is done, remember Alva Fisher’s exposed motor and William Blackstone’s birthday gift. We’ve moved from wooden barrels and literal "widow-makers" to machines that can be controlled from a smartphone. It took over 300 years to get laundry day down to five minutes of actual physical labor, and honestly, it was worth the wait.
Check the manufacture date on your current machine’s sticker—usually found inside the door frame. If it’s over ten years old, the efficiency gains in water usage since the 1930s have likely tripled again, making an upgrade more about your water bill than just the "new" features.